ASIA/PAKISTAN - Kidnapping and conversion of a 13-year-old Christian girl to Islam

Lahore (Agenzia Fides) - It is a case that has shaken the Christian community in Pakistan's Punjab: Sana John, a 13-year-old Christian teenager was kidnapped and converted to Islam by force in Haji Pura, near Silakot.
The Pakistani NGO "Life for All" tells Fides that it has launched an appeal to save her and return her to the family. The girl's father, Shahid John, who has five other children, did not see her return home on the morning of 9 November, after having driven her to school.
Sana’s sister said that while they were returning home after school, some Muslim men stopped them and took Sana away. The Christian family was threatened so that they would not file a complaint.
Shahid John told Fides how concerned he is: "In Pakistan there is no justice for the poor and, above all, no one cares for Christians, no one has heard my cry. The police do not pursue the culprits, no one is doing anything for us".
Through "Life for All", Sana’s family has launched an appeal to the authorities for justice. The NGO said in a statement: "These are frequent cases: influential people use their power in order not to get punished. Thousands of underage girls are abducted and forcibly converted each year. Cases are reported, but the courts and authorities turn a blind eye and the marginalized suffer. How long will we have to tolerate this injustice?".
According to Fides sources cases of girls of Christian and Hindu religious minorities kidnapped and converted to Islam, are often forced to Islamic marriages, there are about a thousand every year. But we are talking about cases which are registered with official complaints. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 26/11/2015)

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religious minorities

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minors

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violence

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islam

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